WEST BRANCH — A little more than a year after the West Branch Housing Corporation acquired the Maplewood Manor, renovations for the West Branch apartment complex are nearly finished, according to West Branch Housing Director Stacy Alley.

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, Alley said the corporation is “just finishing up some odds and ends” and should have repairs done by the end of that week. “All the apartments have been completed,” she added. “Everyone is in their apartments.”

She said that the total cost for renovating the 51 apartments in the complex came to about $3 million.

The Housing Corporation bought the complex, located at 200 S. Valley Street, from the City of West Branch on Dec. 11, 2008 for approximately $3 million. At that time, as reported in the Jan. 6, 2009 edition of the Herald, City Manager Tom Youatt said the city would receive approximately $597,000, which would go into the city’s economic development fund. Alley added at that time that the sale was necessary to facilitate the renovation project.

However, Alley said that the renovations for the complex did not get underway until Aug. 1. She said that a delay in the renovation project occurred because of an issue between the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. The issue centered around which entity will receive money from the corporation’s reserve accounts set aside each month when the building’s mortgage is paid.

She said a change of wording in the agreement between the two parties resolved the dispute.

“MSHDA changed their agreement to satisfy HUD,” she said. “That was between the two agencies.”

Alley said some of the major repairs that have taken place include replacing the electrical, boiler, and air ventilation systems, as well as upgrading the common areas and intercom systems in the complex. In addition, she said the corporation added brand new appliances, including microwaves and dishwashers, and took other stops to modernize each of the apartments.

“Overall, we made it more comfortable for our residents,” she said.

She said beginning Aug. 1, the renovations took place one floor at a time, and took between three and three-and-one-half weeks per floor to complete. During the time that a particular floor was renovated, each resident of that floor relocated somewhere else.

Alley said that some residents opted to stay with family or friends, other residents stayed at a motel, and others relocated to other apartments within the complex.

She added that the residents did not have to absorb the cost of uprooting from their apartments during the renovation process. “We were responsible for all relocation expenses,” she said.

Alley said the complex may be hosting a grand opening next month to display the renovated apartments.